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Alex Rodriguez was bound to be the biggest story yesterday at the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic camp because, well, he’s A-Rod. But at least he gave everyone something new and different to write about, because for some reason, this time, he brought his family with him. Not just to the stadium, mind you, but onto the field. To pose, essentially, for a photo. (Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham described his teammates as bewildered.) This isn't bad publicity, per se, or good publicity. It’s just weird publicity — the type A-Rod’s becoming increasingly adept at creating.

But here’s the best example of how A-Rod’s going to be the center of attention for the foreseeable future no matter what: He was also at the crux of the biggest story at Yankees camp yesterday, just by virtue of not being there. We count nofewerthan three stories about the front end of the Yankees rotation today, and every one of them explained that the only reason you’re reading about the front end of the Yankees rotation is because A-Rod’s on the other side of the state. Maybe this is good news for someone like CC Sabathia, who can fly under the radar (as much as a six-foot-seven man making $161 million can). But all it reminds us of is the fact that once the WBC is over in a few weeks, it’ll be all A-Rod, all the time. For the next nine years. We can’t wait.